Patrick Robinson Ghost Force

Ghost Force

Patrick Robinson

Harper Collins, May 2006, $25.95

ISBN: 0060746912

In 2011, at a White House reception Siberian Chief Minister Masorin dies from poisoning at the same time that Russian Prime Minister Kravchenko is building up his Navy and dispatching the new subs around the globe as if the twentieth century Cold War was hot. The military activity and the assassination concern US President Bedford though he hopes it is internal to somehow protect the flow of oil from Siberia to the new deepwater tank terminal in Murmansk before coming to America. Bedford knows the Chinese are the wild card in the Siberian oil sales as their thirst for black gold is immense.

The Russians send their top submarine Viper 157 armed to the teeth to assist the Argentineans in their attempt to wrest control of the now oil producing Falkland Islands. Argentina makes its grab and the British Royal Navy reacts, but this time unlike the short war three decades ago the Viper 157 is poised to wipe out the British fleet. US Navy Admiral Arnold Morgan and his SEALS mount rescue missions and assist the British who are on the verge of losing control of the Falklands and its oil supply.

Conspiracy buffs will appreciate Patrick Robinson's tense thriller though they will need an inordinate amount of acceptance as much of the adrenalin rush is pumped from improbable scenarios that are never made to seem remotely authentic. Still the action is non-stop and vivid for instance when the SEALS enter the frozen waters off the Falklands, readers will feel just how cold it is due to the stunning descriptions. Mr. Robinson's fans will enjoy his latest action-packed tale that appears to defy plausibility yet is fun to read.

Harriet Klausner